Northern Research Station

Title: A ground-based method of assessing urban forest structure and ecosystem services

Author: Nowak, David J.; Crane, Daniel E.; Stevens, Jack C.; Hoehn, Robert E.; Walton, Jeffrey T.; Bond, Jerry

Date: 2008

Source: Aboriculture & Urban Forestry. 34(6): 347-358.

Description: To properly manage urban forests, it is essential to have data on this important resource. An efficient means to obtain this information is to randomly sample urban areas. To help assess the urban forest structure (e.g., number of trees, species composition, tree sizes, health) and several functions (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage and sequestration), the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model was developed. Data collection variables and model methods are detailed and urban forest structure results are compared among 14 United States cities with average tree density ranging between 22.5 trees/ha (9.1 trees/ac) in Casper, Wyoming, U.S. to 275.8 trees/ha (111.6 trees/ac) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Advantages and disadvantages of this ground-based method of assessing urban forest structure, functions, and values are discussed.

Keywords: air pollution removal, carbon sequestration, tree measurement, urban forest monitoring, urban forest sampling

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Citation

Nowak, David J.; Crane, Daniel E.; Stevens, Jack C.; Hoehn, Robert E.; Walton, Jeffrey T.; Bond, Jerry  2008.  A ground-based method of assessing urban forest structure and ecosystem services.   Aboriculture & Urban Forestry. 34(6): 347-358..